


Stuck In the Dark(But You're My Flashlight)

by orphan_account



Category: Ghostbusters (2016)
Genre: Accidents, Confessions, Dreams and Nightmares, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 11:14:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8054146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Prompt I found on tumblr by the lovely an-odd-variety-of-sorts. Holtzmann has some nightmares and Erin is there. Fluff ahead!





	Stuck In the Dark(But You're My Flashlight)

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this prompt by an-odd-variety-of-sorts on tumblr and therefore dedicated to her! Hope you all enjoy!
> 
> http://an-odd-variety-of-sorts.tumblr.com/post/150359335114/holtzmann-talking-in-her-sleep-and-usually-she
> 
> Fair warning: I wrote this late at night and so despite editing, any mistakes are still my own and may be a little OOC.
> 
> DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING

“Giant ducks… mm – not today, Dragonface…” Erin glanced over her physics journal she’d been studying and across the lab where a restless Jillian Holtzmann was hunched over her workbench, not tinkering, no – but _dreaming_.

 

 _Shoot, why does she have to be so adorable_ – Erin thought inwardly and shook her head with a gentle smile. She set her journal down and stood from her desk, her back releasing a satisfying ‘ _pop_ ’ as she stretched her limbs, not realizing just how long she’d really been sitting down until she caught sight of the darkened skies outside of the Firehouse windows.

 

The sun had set hours ago and it was nearing three AM. The lab was quiet save for the gentle hum of Holtzmann’s machines and the containment units that surrounded their shared second-story lab. _Shared_ being a loose word.

 

Holtzmann had insisted she’d need an entire floor to set up her lab and Patty had been the one to fight hardest on this until Holtzmann proved on one too many instances just how flammable her projects could be next to first edition history tombs and so Patty begrudgingly gave up trying to settle on sharing a space with Holtzmann and moved back to the first floor with Abby, Erin and Kevin.

 

But as time moved forward, Erin found herself more often than not drifting upstairs to assist Holtzmann with one odd-end project or simply to escape Abby’s little tics that after a near decade of friendship-hiatus, Erin had forgotten how loud Abby liked to chew and pop her gum and the pencil drumming drove her near insane.

 

One would think that Holtzmann’s quirks would be worse, but for some reason, Erin found peace within the lab space and after spending a week writing meticulous equations for one of Holtzmann’s latest weapon designs over a stretch of one of the engineer’s workbenches, Holtzmann had surprised Erin overnight by lugging up a giant whiteboard and screwing it to the far wall, right next to a workbench that she cleared and made into a makeshift desk for Erin. Holtzmann didn’t say a word when Erin found the set up that morning, simply continued to work and lip sync _Bohemian Rhapsody_ and Erin brought Holtzmann her favorite sandwich (pastrami on rye with extra sauerkraut and mustard, hold the pickles, thanks to Abby who turned green just repeating the order) for lunch later that afternoon as a thank you.

 

Erin blinked, coming back from memory lane as a loud snore broke through her reverie. Holtzmann hadn’t moved, her goggles were askew on her face and there was a small dribble of drool starting to form on the table next to where she was crouched over.

 

The physicist approached, from across the workbench with experience after having already woken Holtzmann twice before on occasions such as this, and laid a gentle hand on the engineer’s shoulder, shaking just enough to get the desired effect.

 

“Helium, Lithium, Beryllium-!” Holtzmann shot up from her sleep, goggles flying from her face and back behind her head as Erin, despite knowing how the engineer would react, still jumped back in caution. The blonde’s eyes were wild at first, scanning her surroundings to get a grasp on where she was.

 

“You’re not Mrs. Phillip’s third grade class…” Holtzmann shook her head, eyes finally focusing on Erin and blinking several times to clear the haze.

 

Erin half-snorted, half-coughed at that.

 

“You fell asleep again… you should go get some rest – it’s nearly three,” Holtzmann had turned to grab her goggles from the floor and turned back on her workbench, wincing (possibly due to a crick in her neck) and nodded at Erin.

 

“Sorry about that – I didn’t disturb you, did I?” Holtzmann stood, twisting her shoulders to pop her back and Erin shook her head in the negative.

 

“No, I didn’t even realize you’d fallen asleep – I was in my own world I suppose,” Erin returned as she nodded her head over her shoulder where the only light came from her small desk lamp, illuminating an open physics journal and a notebook along with a nearly emptied bottle of water.

 

“Sleep -” Holtzmann agreed, nonchalant. Her hair on the left side of her face stood a little more on end than usual and she still had the imprint of her hand on her cheek where she’d been resting and Erin couldn’t help but be envious of how Holtzmann still looked so beautiful.

 

 _Stop it,_ Erin chided. _That’s your co-worker, and your friend – no need to get your stupid hormones involved! You already pushed your limits with Kevin_.

 

“Penny for your thoughts, Gilbert?” Holtzmann asked, rolling up a blueprint on her desk before shoving it haphazardly into her drawer and shutting a notebook, placing her aviator goggles on top of it like a pseudo paperweight.

 

“Me? No! None at all! Of course not, why? Do _you_ have thoughts? Or – or something?” Erin grimaced at her lame attempts to not feel like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

_Smooth, Erin_ … Holtzmann said nothing though at Erin’s extreme awkwardness however and just shook her head, placing her arm around Erin’s shoulders as she came around the desk and directed her to the stairs.

 

“C’mon, I think you need sleep even more than I do,” Holtzmann smirked and they headed up to the third floor that the team had made into a suitable living quarters with a bedroom for each of the Ghostbusters, minus Kevin who had found a cheap apartment nearby (“Kevin, you wouldn’t have to pay rent living here-” Abby tried to explain.) But their dimwitted Australian puppy insisted that it was still a good price and nobody fought him further.

 

“I guess you’re right,” Erin felt her eyes grow tired, just thinking of the late hour and contributed that to her sagging against the engineer a little more than probably necessary as they made their way up and split apart only as they came to their bedrooms, the doors of which were only within a foot of each other.

 

“Anyway, my back thanks you for waking me, sweet dreams, Gilbert!” Holtzmann leaned forward and pressed a messy, but soft kiss to Erin’s cheek and didn’t stick around to witness the bright red blush that spread up Erin’s neck, ears and face at the new, but certainly not unwelcome affection.

 

“Good night...” Erin breathed. But Holtzmann’s closed door was the only thing there to hear her. 

* * *

It had been two weeks since “the kiss” and Erin had more important things on her mind now that deviated from the issue at hand of whether she or Holtzmann would ever be able to sit down and talk about it.

 

A bust, not unlike any other had occurred earlier that afternoon and it had gotten out of hand really quickly when they discovered there was more than just a simple ghost on the loose outside of Ninth Avenue.

 

No, this had been all _thirteen_ ghosts of the worst NYC subway accident in recorded history from 1905.

 

Patty explained in-between wrangling the ghosts – who were set on recreating the subway tragedy once more by attempting to tear the tracks apart and send the above-ground subway off of its course and onto the road below – that these ghosts were bound to be malevolent as the New York metro department had made certain that the incident findings of foul play had been erased and Erin sadly found herself in a direct line of fire of more than just ectoplasm.

 

Holtzmann, Abby and Patty watched on in horror, as Erin got swept up by one loose specter and thrown on board the speeding subway train that was careening dangerously fast toward the end of the tracks and Erin had been left to handle the malevolence on board that had passengers frightened.

 

Thankfully she managed to shut the speeding train down and when she disembarked the train, she’d been practically tackled to the ground by a tearful Abby and Patty.

 

Holtzmann had been silent but hugged Erin nonetheless, saying nothing but Erin could feel the engineer’s stiffened persona or maybe that was just her? She was shaken, for certain and the team didn’t do much more but accept the gratitude of the passengers before Erin was swept away by Patty toward the ECTO-1 while Abby and Holtzmann discussed with the local police what had occurred.

 

Once back at the Firehouse, Erin got out of the car and headed upstairs, barely acknowledging Kevin and pretended to not hear Patty ask Abby if they should check on her, or Abby’s response to let her have space. Erin, still shaken by the events, had merely disrobed from her jumpsuit and sat down at her desk and set to working on her formulas.

 

Science calmed Erin’s mind. Whereas many would think the opposite of something as complex as quantum physics, the equations and ratios that moved through her mind as she set to figuring out how to create just the right amount of power for an astral projection vortex shield made Erin forget about the world around her, even if only for the time spent conducting research and calculating.

 

It helped her during the worst years of her pre-teen adolescence when she’d become the freaky “ghost girl” at school, it had helped soothe her soul when she and Abby parted ways, it became her solace in years of lonely nights when most women would be crying with tubs of ice cream in front of shitty rom-coms. Erin would sit at her own coffee table and check notes on her students’ work from Columbia and perfect her journals that she’d submit to different Physics columns that eventually, she hoped, would earn her a Nobel.

 

Erin loved science because it didn’t hurt her like emotions and people could. Science didn’t confuse her, instead it challenged her and she loved being able to prove herself right, she reveled in discovering the answers to difficult equations and thrived in the excitement of how the mysteries of the universe could be solved by simply never stopping.

 

“ _It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer_ ,” she had a 4x6 of Einstein’s quote framed in her bedroom at the Firehouse, she admired his genius but also his ability to remain humble and she had attempted to practice that with others who she met in the field when she still taught at University that didn’t always grasp Physics in the same way she had.

 

A moan cut through the silence and Erin looked up for the first time in what felt like only a few minutes, but had really surpassed several hours. The lights in the lab were dimmed and the hum of the machines were present around her, outside the world was dark and across the lab Holtzmann twitched.

 

Erin glanced at the clock on the wall and blinked as she double checked her own wrist to see that it was indeed just past midnight and once again she was alone in the lab with a snoozing Holtzmann. Erin winced at how unnatural her body looked, slumped over her workbench, a wrench just loosely grasped in one fist and glasses slid down just below her nose, fogging with each small puff of air the engineer released.

 

A moan escaped the blonde again and Erin blushed, realizing her friend was dreaming and that she should probably wake her before Holtzmann started getting any louder or started calling out names Erin wasn’t sure she was ready to hear. Her heart and body froze however when the next sound that was cried out from the blonde’s lips was actually her very own.

 

Erin’s face brightened as she watched the blonde in awe at first, wondering if she should just leave Holtz to it and ignore what she’d heard, but not a moment later, a third moan sounded from deep in her throat, but this one was not one of pleasure, instead: pure agony.

 

Upon closer inspection, Erin noticed how Holtz’ face was twisted in pain, not at all like the peaceful slumber usually gracing the engineer’s features.

 

“No… Erin – got to… gotta save – No come back.. _please-_ ” Erin’s heart broke as she closed the distance and realized that the engineer was having a nightmare and it would be cruel to let it continue.

 

“ _ERIN!_ ” she barely reached over before the blonde was pushing up and out of her chair, eyes wild and hair coming slightly undone from its intricate up-do. The engineer stared right at Erin, who had jumped back, a little frightened at the intensity but then was right at Holtzmann’s side.

 

Still a little out of it, Holtzmann jumped back like a spooked animal from Erin’s arms but Erin grabbed at her flailing hands anyway and pulled the younger woman to her.

 

“Holtz – _Holtzmann_ , it’s me!” Erin shushed. The blonde’s chest heaved as she struggled to focus on the present and exit her nightmare. Her eyes continued to stare at Erin for another moment before her pupils began to undulate and really see the redhead.

 

“Erin…” Holtzmann breathed, sounding stretched out, like a question and a prayer all at once. Erin nodded and rubbed her hands up and down Holtzmann’s triceps.

 

“I’m here – it’s okay…” Erin tried to smile, but it was forced, like a grimace. She wasn’t okay, she still had yet to really deal with the events that had transpired earlier and she wasn’t certain if she could do that in front of anyone, let alone the woman standing before her. The woman who’d been a constant plague upon her conscious and subconscious since… well really, since they’d met, but even more so as of late.

 

“Erin…” Holtzmann rushed forward and Erin was thrown off guard as strong arms wrapped around her and a nose buried into her neck, breathing in and out, deep and slow. It wasn’t a hug, not really, Holtzmann’s face nuzzled Erin’s neck and then she felt it.

 

A pair of lips, gentle and patient, pressing gentle against the hollow of her throat, hands caressing her back with tenderness, she was _holding_ Erin. The redhead felt something crack open inside of her and before she could contemplate anything further, the weight of the fact that she’d nearly _died_ today finally crashed into Erin like the train she’d been thrust upon and the dam broke as tears began to flow and Holtzmann rocked them back and forth.

 

Erin just cried, sobbed really, into Holtzmann’s lab jacket and Holtzmann just stood there, holding Erin like she’d never let go and nuzzled her and rubbed her back, not saying a word, standing in the center of the lab, in the middle of the night, surrounded by the scent of burnt metal and Holtz’ spicy cologne that reminded Erin of hot apple cider and cinnamon as well as something rich and Earthy.

 

The hum of the machines around them and the mutual beating of their hearts soothed Erin like a lullaby until she eventually found herself growing heavy with exhaustion and she allowed herself to be led upstairs by Holtzmann, pretty certain that the blonde had asked her a question, but she couldn’t hear her, not really. It sounded like she was underwater and everything was fuzzy.

 

Erin felt the soft press of a mattress behind her knees and Holtzmann led her to lie down, and when the mattress dipped beside her, Erin said nothing but she curled into the younger scientist still and allowed Holtzmann to hold her, falling asleep to the sound of the engineer’s heartbeat.

* * *

Erin’s eyes cracked open, bleary from tears and exhaustion and though the sun had yet to rise, there was enough light filtering from the skies outside for Erin to notice that she was not in her own room. For one, the walls were a light shade of blue instead of the beige that she’d chosen for her own room and there were scorch marks on the ceiling above a solid oak work desk that had a tool belt and a few blueprint diagrams strewn across it.

 

There were multiple pieces of clothing, namely mismatched socks strewn across the floor, several hooks on the wall next to the bed with pairs of yellow-lensed safety goggles on them, a cuckoo clock that may or may not work and one framed photograph of a younger Holtzmann standing with her mentor Dr. Gorin, both in matching black graduation robes, beaming/smiling at the camera, respectively.

 

Despite being in an unfamiliar room, the scent of cinnamon and Old Spice deodorant and the warm weight of an arm tight around her midsection lulled Erin back into a light doze, content and dare she even think it, _happy_.

 

The next time she woke, it was to the eerie feeling that someone or something was watching her. Gray-blue eyes snapped open and immediately locked onto gentle cerulean eyes that were clear and as bright as a midsummer day. Holtzmann was awake and looked peaceful lying beside Erin, simply tracing nondescript patterns along her waist where her arm had previously rested.

 

Erin breathed in deeply through her nose and blinked the sleep away from her eyes, stretching a little bit and felt a smile grace her lips.

 

“Good morning,” Erin sighed, relaxing back into the rather comfortable twin mattress. She caught a whiff of Holtzmann’s shampoo from the pillow they shared and she couldn’t help but smile a little bit wider.

 

“You’re really beautiful when you sleep, not that I’ve been watching – well, not _long_ , I just woke up and you looked peaceful and I didn’t want to wake you and-”

 

“Breathe, Holtzmann,” Erin opened one eye at the scientist who paused to take in a dramatic breath and then giggled, sending Erin into a small fit herself.

 

They settled down after a moment into a more comfortable silence.

 

“I’m sorry if I woke you,” Holtzmann spoke again. Erin blinked open both eyes this time and reveled in the young woman lying beside her. Holtzmann’s hair was down, not just a little bit either, but completely free of its defying-laws-of-physics up-do and was fanned out behind her on the pillow and just a few strands on her shoulders.

 

“Your hair is longer than I imagined it would be,” Erin took a strand of the straw-blonde hair in-between her fingers and wrapped it around her index finger once before releasing it with a soft bounce.

 

“I like you,” Holtzmann said in a single breath, almost rushed, her eyes closed tightly, then opened again and met Erin’s eyes, a bit sterner. “I really _really_ like you and – and yesterday’s bust – I kept thinking to myself that if something happened and you had not come back… you’d have never known and I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, if it does – I can work on it, I promise I won’t push or pursue yo-”

 

Erin wasn’t sure if it would work like it did in those stupid rom-coms that she would generally ignore that played in the background while she would work on physics back when, but she was determined to quiet Holtzmann and it seemed like the only logical choice at the moment, so she went for it.

 

Lips met lips and hands froze before relaxing and finding their way to wrap around one another, postures deflating from shock and hearts beating as one and Holtzmann knew that it was illogical to fly, but kissing Erin Gilbert felt like the moment just as you would let go from a swing and you were in midair, waiting to touch back down and when the kiss finally ended, she was left as breathless as someone who’d suddenly been gifted air from being underwater just a little too long.

 

Holtzmann’s eyes were darker, but focused on Erin like she was the only thing worth seeing, her hair was down and mussed from sleep, her cheeks flushed and lips swollen and Erin had never seen a more beautiful sight. Her heart skipped and she pressed another kiss to Holtzmann’s lips, then her nose and last, her chin before pulling back with an affectionate smile.

 

“I’m right here, Holtz… and when I was on that train yesterday – I had no doubt that somehow, someway you would be there to rescue me if I hadn’t already rescued myself,” Holtzmann’s arms tightened around Erin and their legs tangled together beneath the cool blue sheets. “You have my back and I have yours, and Patty and Abby’s, too…”

 

Holtzmann smiled.

 

“But only _I_ get to kiss you, right?” she winked, cheeky and Erin rolled her eyes. The engineer’s smart remark bringing a matching grin to her face.

 

“Yes, you glorious weirdo, only _you_ can kiss me, now why don’t you stop being a smartass and do just that,” Erin laughed as Holtzmann dove in and peppered her face with some-slobbery, some-affectionate and some just downright playful kisses.

 

They didn’t leave the room the rest of the day.

**Author's Note:**

> Hurt/Comfort are always fun to write.. I've had a really really long week and this was just the sort of fluff I needed to get my spirits back up. So I hope you all enjoyed and if you did please take a moment to leave a review!
> 
> They feed my dark soul :3


End file.
